A collection of letters written by important Chinese personalities during the Ming Dynasty has been sold for 9.9 million yuan (US$1.19 million) at an auction hosted by China Guardian Auction Co., Ltd., China's leading auctioneer.
The sale, reportedly made to a Chinese collector, was a record for rare ancient Chinese documents sold at auction.
The collection, which consists of more than 600 epistolary writings penned by over 400 noted personalities during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), paints a vivid picture of the political, economic and cultural aspects of life in China more than 400 years ago.
In addition, a piece of furniture said to belong to the imperial family in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was sold for 9.4 million yuan (US$1.13 million) at the auction.
At present, China has 40 million collectors, and the transaction volume of antiques exceeds 5 billion yuan (more than US$600 million) annually.
(Xinhua News Agency November 12, 2002)
